Where The Healing Begins
by comparisons
Summary: *Spoilers for 2x10 The Cricket Game* After finding out the accusations against Regina are false, Emma goes to apologize.


The rocks were cold and slick by the shore, water seeking out weak cracks in which to play, spouting and spraying and leaving an icy dew to be swept away by gusts of wind. Winter was cracking its knuckles in preparation for its official debut, giving hints to its coming by the light flakes dusted into the hair of the residents of Storybrooke. Regina breathed in the crisp air, folding her arms over herself in a futile effort to warm her frostbitten fingers. Her mayoral outfits, while of the utmost style, barely made a dent in terms of functionality. Though she was no longer mayor, casual clothes were not even an option, partially because she never saw fit to buy any during her time in office. She shivered against the backdrop of what was once Henry's old castle. All that was left of the wooden refuge was a pile of overturned dirt, and memories she had no part in creating. There, she stood peering out into the ocean, somber as the grey sky that blanketed her.

Emma approached slowly from behind. She'd spent the better part of the morning searching for Regina with no luck. She knew Regina had hid away somewhere after being accused of murder, but Emma knew Regina well enough that she knew the woman wouldn't leave Storybrooke completely. Regina would never abandon Henry like that, even if it meant her own safety. After asking around, an old fisherman with yellowing teeth and a scraggly beard pointed her to the opposite side of the harbor, saying he'd seen a figure staring out at the water long enough for the tide to have shifted. Emma thanked him and drove off.

She recognized the place immediately. When she first pulled up, she almost didn't notice Regina's car parked behind some trees a distance away. It was clear Regina was not interested in announcing her presence to unwelcome eyes. Popping out of her yellow bug, Emma was instantly hit with the cold. It was exceptional by the water, and was only exacerbated by having come out of a cozy, heated vehicle. Each breath created small clouds in front of her nostrils. From the sounds of things, Regina had been standing there a while. Her blood must have turned to ice by now.

Not wanting to startle her, Emma quieted her steps.

"I can see why you and Henry loved coming here so often." Emma gasped at having been caught, mentally smacking herself for not having known better; Regina could not be taken by surprise. Hell, no one in this town could be.

Straightening her back and coming up beside Regina, she nodded in agreement. "It was nice. The sound of the water was relaxing. But it was a lot nicer to have a place I could come to talk to Henry. Our own special place." She cleared her throat, shoving her hands in her pockets both for warmth and out of habit. She didn't want to get in to talks of Henry just yet. She had something else she needed to discuss first.

"They found Archie today. Or, Archie found us, I should say. He cleared your name," she spoke softly, momentarily stopping to inspect Regina's face. Of everyone, Regina was the person she had the hardest time reading. But of everyone, Emma suspected she was the only one who had even bothered to try to learn how to read Regina. "You were innocent the whole time. You were telling the truth."

Regina scoffed, staring ahead blankly. "Well, thank you for coming to tell me what I already knew."

Emma rolled her eyes. Just like Regina to be abrasive when she was trying to be earnest. "I came to tell you that you're off the hook. I thought you'd appreciate the update. And..." she huffed, letting out her mild annoyance so the next part would seem as genuine as she had wanted it to be when she'd imagined this conversation, "that I'm sorry. I should have trusted you. I should have trusted that you were committed to changing. I should have trusted my instincts." Regina shrugged her coat up higher on her shoulders, looking down. She hoped that meant an accepted apology, but Emma also knew that she had a lot to apologize for still.

"You have to understand, the evidence was pretty compelling. And I wanted to believe you were innocent, I did. I defended you to my parents when they doubted you. But I saw what I saw, and Cora made sure-"

"Cora?"

"Yeah. Your mother is here. She's the one who framed you."

Silence.

"How did she get here?"

"I have no idea." Emma responded truthfully. To her knowledge, both Hook and Cora had been unconscious when she and Mary Margaret jumped through the portal. She couldn't think of any other way that they could have gotten through. _Unless_, she mused out loud, "magical bean... Never mind, it's not important how Hook and Cora got here. They're here, so they need to be dealt with. The main thing is that now everyone knows that you didn't do it. You're free."

"I hardly think that means that they'll trust me now," Regina replied truthfully, but the words came off sounding bitter. She kicked at a small rock, watching it tumble downwards into the water, setting a few other loose stones free in its path. Hook's name was pasted to a string of curses under her breath - he had betrayed her, faked her mother's death. Now he and her mother were working together, and they were both in Storybrooke, presumably to destroy her. "She's going to keep coming after me. And after Henry. She's not going to stop." Worry plagued her words, ached in her joints.

The strong-willed, determined, often-stubborn fighter Emma once knew was a cracked vase, dropped too many times to keep being glued together so carelessly. Emma found herself more and more intrigued by this deeply damaged woman standing in front of her. Regina reminded her of herself at times, only Emma had people that loved her. Regina was completely, truly alone. Only Cora wanted a place in Regina's life. Emma, however, couldn't let Cora prevail. Not after seeing what Cora was like. While she would tell herself it was all for Henry, Emma knew some part of her wanted Regina to succeed just as much as Henry did. Regina still had a shot at redemption, and she'd be damned if Regina didn't get every opportunity she herself got. Without someone believing in her, Emma never would have changed. In Cora's manipulative hands, Regina would surely revert. Regina deserved her second chance, and Henry deserved his adoptive mother.

"I was thinking that maybe you could teach me some proper spells, some real magic," Emma suggested, suddenly worried her nervousness was glaringly apparent. It was the suggestion itself that brought on fear, but also the very likely possibility that Regina would shut down the idea completely. The words stuck to her tongue uneasily, new and foreign. When Regina didn't respond right away, Emma continued. "We'd be more powerful together. We could keep Cora away, maybe even defeat her. I mean, look what happened when we worked together with the magic portal, and we weren't even _trying_ then."

"I promised Henry I wouldn't do magic." A painful look flashed through Regina's eyes as she turned to properly face Emma.

"He would understand if we explained it to him. He'd want it. You wouldn't be the one doing most of the magic, you'd be teaching me," Emma tried to reason, understanding and expecting Regina's hesitation. "It would be to keep him safe."

"Emma, you don't know what you're getting yourself in to. There's no going back from magic. It could ruin you - it ruined me," Regina provided as an example. It was little moments like these that Emma got concrete affirmation that Regina was indeed changing for the better. It almost sounded like she was worried for Emma's well-being.

"I've read all the warning labels. All magic comes with a price, et cetera, et cetera."

"Why not ask Gold?"

"Gold's only interested if he'll get something out of it. Trouble is, he's interested in me gaining magic for reasons that aren't necessarily in my best interests. We're working towards a similar goal - to keep Henry safe. Please, just consider it." Regina looked unconvinced. "You can't take her on alone."

The last sentence sparked something in Regina's deep brown eyes, a look which to those unfamiliar, would go otherwise unnoticed. Emma was pretty sure the other woman was touched. Regina smoothed her lips with her tongue, studying Emma and slowly beginning to nod. "I-I, okay. I'll do it," she finally agreed, folding her arms as if it was some great inconvenience to her, "but only because it will help to keep Henry safe." Regina's words were met with a smile that she didn't quite understand. No one had ever smiled at her in that particular way. "What?"

"Nothing, it's just that - the other reason I came to see you today, was to tell you you were right about something else. Henry _should_ be spending more time with you. I'm sorry about lashing out earlier. I was upset and angry, but it's not my place to deny you seeing him."

For a moment, Regina was convinced Emma was trying to make some sort of cruel joke. Or, at the very least, that her ears were deceiving her into hearing what she wanted to hear. "What?"

"Yeah. You were right. For better or for worse, you're Henry's mother too. I mean, what do I really know about parenting? And it's _hard work _being a single mom. Who knew? The other day, Henry told me he was sick of my cooking. I personally don't see the problem with eating mac and cheese ten days in a row." Emma laughed. "I don't know how you did it all by yourself for all those years. I'm ready to cheat," Emma teased light-heartedly. She was practically dangling her own inadequacy in front of Regina's nose, easy bait. But she was alright throwing Regina this bone. She at least deserved to feel some slight superiority after being accused of murder. And for how shitty it was for Emma to have denied Regina the right to see Henry in the first place.

"Yes, well... not a whole lot compares to my homemade lasagna." Regina returned Emma's smile with slight reservation. After a short beat, she added, "I hope you're not expecting me to teach you how to cook, too. I'd like to keep the people preparing Henry's meal to those with refined tastes."

And_ there _was the old, snarky Regina that Emma had missed. Or, grown accustomed to. "Come on, you must be freezing. Henry's been wanting to see you."

"Okay. I'm not driving in that yellow monster, if that's what you're suggesting."


End file.
